A Rich Reward

English Standard Version Chapter 1

9 Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation

James here is speaking of someone who would be considered poor by the worlds standards. In context of the time that they were living in, this probably would have described most of the Jewish converts. They would have been facing great persecution because of their faith. Possibly had to flee their homes and leave everything behind. So this idea of being poor would have probably been a common thing.

I cannot think of any time that I have struggled financially due to my faith. Have you ever had this experience?

What James is teaching is that even though you are poor, that should not change how you view God. It is very easy for our view of our circumstances to change our view of God. I would say that this has contributed to the rise of charlatans of today. We have these movements of “faith healers” and the word of faith movement. Both of which are way off base with scripture. Just as we have talked about at the beginning of James, we should expect trials and not run from them. These people were in the midst of trials. They were poor. And it wasn’t because of their lack of faith. It wasn’t because they didn’t name it and claim it. Maybe Joel Osteen should study the New Testament church a little more.

But let’s look at this verse again. Tell me what you notice that seems off. This sentence is almost a paradox. How can the lowly person also be exalted? This doesn’t make sense. But for someone who understands eternity, it makes sense. Even with the trials that we face here in this life, they are all temporary. But the joy that we receive from having our new life in Christ, that is eternal. 2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” We are different people than we were before Christ. With this new identity comes a new hope. This hope does not come from worldly wealth.

In his sermon on this passage, Costi Hinn uses the example of John D. Rockefeller. He is widely known as the richest American that ever lived. In his time, his personal net worth accounted for 3% of the GDP of our country or the income that came in. He had control over 90% of the oil industry which led to laws being put in place to prevent monopoly over industries. At the time of his death, he would have been worth $340 billion in our measures today. Just for reference, Elon Musk, who is the richest person in America today, is worth $257 billion. So he would still have been the richest man by over 80 billion. When Rockefeller was asked how much money was enough money, his reply was, “just one more dollar”. He never would have been satisfied.

Our view of our worldly position can change our view of God. So when someone, who is a believer in Christ, is poverty stricken, they must look to Jesus to understand that the situation does not change their eternal value. They are rich by God’s standards because they are a new creation in Christ.

So does this mean that we are to shun any form of wealth that could happen for us?

As we continue, we also see James speak to the Christian who has money.

English Standard Version Chapter 1

10 and the rich in his humiliation

The rich man should boast in his humiliation just as the poor man boast in his exaltation. Now when we think of rich people, we don’t really see them as being humiliated.